Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT25664FN1608 Review

"Ask any PC enthusiast and they'll tell you that system heat is a constant concern", said Crucial Ballistix senior product manager, Jeremy Mortenson. The new Crucial Ballistix kit comes with a pair of innovations in memory cooling. The first one is an improved heat spreader design compared to the old models. This isn't such a big innovation in the memory market but the second will be an interesting one for sure. Crucial added thermal sensors for temperature monitoring via software. Since we're PC enthusiasts at Benchmark Reviews, the BL2KIT25664FN160 kit from Crucial couldn't miss our benchmark's suite and tests.

Crucial designed this kit for Intel P55 platforms, but practically every Intel platform can take advantage of the new Ballistix BL2KIT25664FN1608. While they mention Intel XMP support is recommended it's not really necessary at all, and it shouldn't hinder the functionality. Crucial is considered one of the best brands in the memory market, mainly because they have many choices available which are manufactured by Micron Technology with a big reputation behind them including the high quality and overclocking results. Crucial has kept a very simple design for their RAM heat-spreaders but today the BL2KIT25664FN1608 is taking the step to the big heat sinks which by the way, have been already used in many other brands from a pair of years before to these days.

Crucial knows the market and how to make good products, so I'm expecting very good results this time, but at the other hand, since "Thermal Sensors" via software are new to the RAM technology, it might not be what I'm expecting for. Hopefully, the review will reveal all the secrets of this kit by the time it comes to an end. While I remember Crucial packages were plain brown boxes with the brand's logo on the top, this time they're shipping a more appealing blister. Check it out:

The blister contains a pair of 2GB DIMMs with their heat-spreader already installed. There's a seal at the bottom remarking their limited lifetime warranty and they catalogue this kit as "Premium Memory". There's no CD or software to measure temperatures included, but you can go to their homepage and download it for free (it supports both 32 & 64 bit OSs). Benchmark Reviews will test this kit paired with a P55 high-end platform which will be explained later.

About Crucial Technology

A wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., Lexar Media, Inc. boasts one of the most comprehensive offerings of memory product lines in the industry. We deliver high-quality, award-winning products in every memory category: USB flash drives, all popular form factors of memory cards and card readers, DRAM computer memory for PCs and Mac systems, and solid state drives (SSD). We back our products with outstanding customer support and industry-leading warranties, and we strive to expand our offerings to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers - customers just like you.

The Lexar brand has long been synonymous with reliable, high-performance products, which is reflected in the award-winning memory products and USB flash drives sold under the Lexar name.

Our Crucial brand reflects our status as the only consumer memory upgrade supplier that's part of a major DRAM manufacturer. We sell high-quality memory that has been qualified and approved by most major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Crucial.com website features innovative online tools and an intuitive design that makes it easy to find compatible memory and recommended upgrades. And because we carry over 250,000 upgrades for more than 40,000 systems, we've got options for nearly every system out there.

Lexar Media has more than 10 years experience in the memory industry. Our strong retail brands, along with our direct online and OEM presence, make Lexar Media a global player in every major customer channel, including value-added resellers, system builders, and e-commerce. And we've built a name synonymous with quality, innovation, and customer service.

About Micron Technology

Micron is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Micron's DRAM and Flash components are used in today's most advanced computing, networking, and communications products, including computers, workstations, servers, cell phones, wireless devices, digital cameras, and gaming systems.

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